


As Normal As Things Were Likely to Get

by mmbucky



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-29
Updated: 2012-12-29
Packaged: 2017-11-22 20:19:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/613910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmbucky/pseuds/mmbucky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Troy decided that Chad had become far too skilled at avoiding the question. All he wanted was for everything to go back to normal, whatever normal was supposed to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	As Normal As Things Were Likely to Get

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is _SO_ old. It’s just about Chad and Troy’s friendship (there's hardly any actual Chad/Ryan in here) and it’s just a little look at teenage boys' awkwardness and social expectations, guys and their strange communication skills and how they deal with difficult topics, blah blah. Teenage boys being awkward and managing to say so much without _actually_ saying it is funny to me. I feel like I ship Troy/Chad now.  
>  Apologies for the long sentences and tbh, some of the dialogue might be best read aloud… cuz it’s awkward teenage boys and their guy talk… just sayin’.

It was Saturday morning, and Troy kicked the dirt around the edge of his backyard baseball court feebly. Chad was already half an hour late for Saturday practise, and Troy was beginning to lose the mood to play anyway. He was surprised Chad had even said he would be here, but a little less surprised to see that he was late. The previous Saturday’s practise had been a no-go as Chad had claimed he would be too tired from the night before, whatever that meant, but he certainly hadn’t handed over details when pushed for them. They had planned to take Troy’s new truck out for a spin that Friday, not that it was exactly new anymore or spun too well, but Chad had cancelled on him last minute and dashed out of the staff exit of the kitchen in a fluffy haze of brown hair and a flailing apron, forgetting to clock out. It all puzzled Troy endlessly.

There were many things that Troy didn't understand, and he would be the first to admit that. Countless theories and equations flew straight over his head; solutions to puzzles and complications were by and large lost on him and, if he was to be honest, he generally left the thinking up to Gabriella. She was great at thinking. They had a good thing going on which involved her figuring the problems out, and then him fixing them. Tried and tested; simple and practical. 

What seemed to be mystifying him the most at present though, and there had been many obscure occurrences to puzzle over this summer, was something he couldn’t rely on Gabriella to break down and explain to him. Mainly because it involved her, albeit only partially, but because it was a problem Troy believed he was solely aware of, so therefore something he had to get to the bottom of by himself. He just needed to comprehend it all fully before he could even begin to fix the problem.

The issue had begun to reveal itself steadily and continuously after the talent show had been performed and won, and thankfully, in Troy's opinion, put in the past. He was back to working in the kitchen, scrubbing the remains of gourmet meals from china plates and clearing crystal glasses and silver cutlery from the dining room, all the while groaning about how the pay wasn’t enough for this kind of slavery. Everything was supposed to be back to normal; summer was meant to be in full swing, and life was supposed to be peachy once more. In many ways it was, but one small thing seemed to be making everything feel foreign to Troy. He had begun to realise, even though apologies had been exchanged and make-up kisses have been had, that in his absence he had missed something vital that seemed to have changed everything, and Troy believed he knew what it was.

Ryan Evans always seemed to be the excuse. The reason Gabriella couldn’t meet Troy for lunch yesterday had been because she was picnicking with Ryan, and it had apparently been planned for a week, and she was of course very sorry for not letting him know but they had things to talk about that Troy supposedly wouldn’t get. The reason Zeke was baking raspberry and white chocolate brownies on a Wednesday instead of good old peanut brownies, as had previously been the routine, was because they were Ryan’s favourite, and Zeke didn’t understand why Troy wouldn’t just try one and quit whingeing, because the raspberry complimented the dual chocolate flavours in the most delightful way. The reason Kelsi had started wearing hats that actually matched her outfits was of course because Ryan had taken her shopping, and it wasn’t that Troy actually cared much about Kelsi’s hats, in fact he wasn’t bothered if she wore one or not, it was just that the reasoning behind the sudden change, as usual, came down to Ryan Evans. And what quite possibly annoyed Troy the most was that the reason Chad was cancelling on him increasingly more often, postponing their plans and cutting their time together short was Ryan. 

He could live with strange new brownies, tasteful hats, and possibly even surrendering the odd lunch or two with Gabriella if he had to, but he was beginning to feel that his role as Chad’s best friend was being recast in favour of Ryan, and it was certainly something he had never imagined would happen. 

So Troy had come to the conclusion that he had indeed missed something. Something vital, no doubt, but he didn’t understand what it was or why everything was all of a sudden so different because of it. He wasn’t used to change, and in his opinion there had been more than enough change to deal with this summer. All he wanted was for things to return to normal so he wouldn’t have to spend so much time thinking about everything, because after all, it was his summer vacation and thinking was certainly not permitted during summer.

In the end Chad was forty-five minutes late to practise, but he still turned up. Troy supposed that was something.

“Hoops!” he called, jogging towards the court wielding his own basketball and a wide grin. Either he had a bounce in his step, Troy noted, or his hair was creating the illusion. 

Troy couldn’t help but grin back, despite being put out about Chad’s tardiness. He also reminded himself never to use such a Darbus-esque word as _tardiness_ again, even if he hadn’t actually said it aloud. 

“Sorry I’m late,” Chad apologised cheerfully, while launching the ball into the nearest hoop. “Kinda got caught up, you know.”

Troy nodded. “I guess so,” he mumbled, moving to catch the ball when it bounced in his direction. “What was it, then?” he asked, irritated by the tension his tone implied, so quickly added with a slight laugh, “What could be more important than a game with Hoops, man?” He bounced the ball a few times to cover his awkwardness.

“Nothing major, dude,” he mumbled dismissively, still with a grin nevertheless. “Hey, toss it here; let’s get a little one-on-one going.” 

Troy decided that Chad had become far too skilled at avoiding the question, but he tossed the ball nonetheless. When Troy actually stopped to think about it, he realised Chad had been acting particularly flippant lately, and not as open and candid as he used to be. The suspicious side of his brain said it was all to do with Chad not considering Troy his best friend anymore, while the other half of his brain told him to quit being a girl and play ball. But in the midst of a particularly good game, on Chad’s side mostly, Troy decided it was time to put his thinking cap on and get to the bottom of his ever-existing problem.

“Hey, man. So,” he begun awkwardly, not really knowing where to go with this, “Gabi said she was gonna get… spray tans or something with Martha and Ryan today.” Troy mentally slapped himself upside the head for sounding so clumsy.

Chad let out a little laugh and shot the ball into the hoop with a flying leap. “Gabi doesn’t really need a spray tan, though, does she?” 

Troy asked himself the same question and wondered why he couldn’t have lied about pedicures or facials instead. “Yeah, she seems to be doing that a lot, you know.” 

“What, tanning?” Chad asked with another small laugh. He shot another hoop, obviously not paying much attention to the conversation. “C’mon man, don’t just _let_ me win.”

“Nah, man, I mean hanging out with Ryan,” he explained, attempting to block Chad from a third hoop in a row. His attempt failed, as did his efforts to sustain a conversation. “Everyone seems to be doing that these days,” Troy added, hoping it would draw a response out of Chad. “You know… hanging out with Ryan.” 

Chad fumbled with the ball momentarily, giving Troy the opportunity to seize it. He swiftly ducked around Chad and threw the ball towards the hoop, but it missed. He caught the ball as it rebounded and turned to face Chad, tucking the ball under his arm.

“’Kay, what’s your point?” Chad asked, straightening up and staring back at Troy quizzically. 

Troy shrugged. “I dunno. Just seems like everyone’s suddenly all over the guy, and I don’t know when it happened.” He also didn’t know how the conversation had rapidly become so tense, but he supposed it had to happen somehow. “Or why it happened.”

After a moment’s pause it was Chad’s turn to shrug, and he diverted his gaze. “Don’t look at me, man. It’s not my fault your girlfriend’s always tanning with him.”

“I didn’t… I didn’t really mean that, dude,” Troy began awkwardly, again not knowing where to go with this. “I mean, you’ve been spending loads of time with him too… and it’s just, like… weird, y’know?” He wouldn’t have been at all surprised if Chad had laughed at how clumsy and absurd he sounded, because he sure felt like laughing, even if it was only to lighten the mood.

Chad wasn’t laughing though. “Why is it weird? What have you got against him?” Chad’s demeanour was suddenly cold and defensive, and his arms were crossed over his chest. 

“Nothing,” Troy responded probably a bit too hastily. “Nothing at all, I’m sure he’s an absolute blast to hang out with.” He hadn’t meant it to sound so scornful, but it had come out that way. He threw the ball towards the hoop, but missed again and he didn’t bother going to retrieve it as it bounced across the grass. 

It appeared to take Chad a second or two to process Troy’s comment, but Troy watched as the unmasked bitterness built in his gaze. It was then that Troy realised the situation may indeed be more than he was ready to take on by himself, but he was now nose-deep in the hole he had dug so there was no climbing out anytime soon. 

“For your information he _is_ fun to hang out with,” Chad spat with the dangerous tone in his voice that Troy preferred not to hear. It meant things were serious, and Troy didn’t like when things got serious. “I should’ve known you’d act like this,” Chad muttered more to himself than Troy, and turned to walk away.

“Act like what?” Troy demanded, causing Chad to turn back around. He wasn’t sure why Chad was suddenly so hostile towards him, but it only made him lose his grip on his temper quicker. “A little pissed off ‘cause everyone seems to be bowing down to Evans all of a sudden? A bit angry because I never know if you’re gonna ditch me for him again whenever we make plans?” Troy was aware of the fact that he was losing control of both the situation and his anger, but it didn’t stop him. “I find it hard to believe that you’d be totally cool with it if all of a sudden everyone kept blowing you off and you had no idea why.”

“ _That’s_ what this is about for you? What, you feel left out? Can’t handle it when people are paying attention to someone other than you, huh, playmaker?” He looked at Troy incredulously, and Troy didn’t know how to answer. “Ryan hasn’t taken your place- “

“Well that’s what it feels like,” Troy interrupted. “I never get a look in anymore, man. It’s always him. If it’s not you blowing me off, it’s Gabriella so she can go _tanning_ or _picnicking_ with him, or the guys going on about what a great game of baseball he played, or I don’t know, Martha trying to show me some new steps he taught her.” He took a deep breath, intent on continuing, but Chad beat him to it.

“I still don’t see what’s so wrong with that.” His glare was expressionless and his arms were crossed again.

“There’s nothing wrong with _that_ , I can accept that he’s part of our group now. He’s a great guy, as far as I’ve seen,” again Troy felt himself at a loss of how to phrase what he wanted to say, even though he didn’t really want to say it at all. “What I don’t understand is why he has to suddenly be everything I used to be. It’s like he’s your new best friend, and I’m just left here wondering when the hell it all happened.”

Troy dropped his gaze, feeling exposed and foolish now that the conversation had become so emotional. Chad stared at him for a long period, and Troy could feel the tension in the air fade. He hated the fact that Chad probably pitied him now. 

“Dude, it’s not- I don’t…” Chad stumbled, as though he wasn’t really thinking about what he was saying, but still reacting to what Troy had said. Troy was glad to see he wasn’t the only one having trouble with making words exit his mouth in an orderly fashion. “He’s not my new best friend.”

Lifting his eyes back up to look at Chad, Troy contemplated his friend for a moment. “Then why are you acting like he is? How come you keep running off to hang out with him? I mean, it’s not like I- I mean, I’m fine without, I can deal… I just mean…” Troy searched desperately for a way to backtrack and regain a grasp on his dignity before it disappeared completely, and Chad frantically scanned the ground for a distraction.

He scuffed his trainers against the surface. “We just have stuff in common, that’s all,” he answered, and Troy couldn’t help but pick up on the tone of dismissal that had returned to his voice. 

“I thought baseball was all you two had in common? What else is there to possibly talk about?” Troy grinned, thinking it was a joke that Chad would laugh along with. 

“ _Stuff_ , alright?” Chad snapped, clearly unwilling to elaborate any further. 

Troy was confused all over again. With a sigh, he resigned to the fact that it wouldn’t be time for jokes for a while yet. “Why do I get the feeling there’s something more to it than that?”

Chad stared back at Troy for a second before turning and heading a few steps away to another basketball by the edge of the court. He picked it up and dribbled it a small way, then bounced on the balls of his feet and shot it through the hoop. Troy recognised his diversion tactics instantly, but he wasn’t going to give up as easily as Chad wanted. 

“Chad?” he asked. “C’mon, Fro, give it up.”

Chad moved to catch the ball and bounced it a few times, his back to Troy and his face towards the ground. He took a deep breath, and Troy wondered what could possibly be so hard for Chad to say to him. He wanted to know what it was that Ryan had that made him so much more important to Chad all of a sudden, and he wanted an explanation as to why Chad was so defensive about it. He wanted his ridiculous problem to be solved so things could hopefully go back to normal, but he hadn’t imagined it would be so hard for Chad to talk about.

Heaving another sigh, Chad turned around partially, still not looking at Troy. “There’s… It’s… I’m really not ready to tell anyone,” he began, working his jaw and looking far too tense for the situation, in Troy’s opinion. “In fact, I didn’t want to tell you at all.” He bounced the ball again as a distraction, or simply to do something with his hands. 

“It’s just me, man.” Troy offered, still confused, but tactful enough to not force it out of Chad when he was so clearly troubled by it.

Chad chanced a quick glance at Troy, before quickly diverting his gaze. “I don’t really know how to say it…” he admitted, turning his stance around to face Troy, but keeping a fixed gaze on the ground. He spun the ball nervously in his hands. 

Troy shrugged. “I’m your bro. I don’t care. You can say whatever, dude.”

“Uh,” Chad started, taking another deep breath. “So I guess lately… and I haven’t in the past, I mean, I didn’t think- I’m not even sure about it, I just-” He looked up at Troy, thick frown set in his brow. He took a moment to think, and then seemed to choose a different approach. “Okay, you know how there’s you and Gabriella?” He asked abruptly with a slight bit more conviction. 

Troy nodded after a short moment, “Yeah?”

“And then there was Kelsi and Jason, for like, ten seconds?” 

Troy agreed again. “Okay, yeah.”

“And there’s Sharpay and Zeke? When she’s in the mood, that is.”

Troy eventually nodded, but wasn’t even remotely sure what Chad was getting at. “Yeah, I get that.”

“And you know how there used to be me and Taylor?” He continued, staring back at Troy intently as though trying to convey what he was attempting to explain by means of telepathy, which would be a lot less painful for the both of them, Troy imagined. 

“Uh huh…” Troy slowly nodded.

Chad bounced the ball again. “Okay,” he said slowly, breathing deeply. His voice dropped drastically in volume and Troy strained to hear, “Well now there’s, and it’s not a big thing, it’s just… It’s new, it’s not a massive thing…” Chad trailed off and bounced the ball a few more times. He looked panicked. “Just don’t freak out, man. I don’t want you to freak out.”

Troy sighed, feeling Chad’s pain more so than he thought he would. “Dude, I’ve known you since we were three foot tall.”

Chad flicked his gaze up to Troy’s and then ripped it away so quickly that Troy was temporarily distracted by Chad’s behaviour. Chad began bouncing the ball again.

“Okay,” he nodded, clearly giving himself a quick pep talk. He bounced the ball one last time before catching it and staring down at it like it was giving him strength to carry on. His voice was shaky when he finally muttered, “Okay. Well… well now there’s me and Ryan. So. Yeah.”

Troy wasn’t sure what that meant. He thought he’d been keeping up so well, and he probably should’ve mulled it over for a little while longer, but instead he frowned at Chad and asked “Sorry, what?”

Chad stared at him disbelievingly. “Dude!” he exclaimed, then was he quickly looking everywhere but Troy and bouncing the ball again. “God! Don’t make me say it, okay?” 

“Say what?” he almost yelled, feeling frustration creep back in. He was beyond confused, and it felt like Chad was trying to speak to him in another language. 

“ _You_ and Gabriella!” Chad said again, gesturing wildly with the ball. “Zeke and Sharpay! Me and Taylor!” He stared at Troy again as through trying to send brainwaves. “Don’t you get it?”

“I get it,” Troy defended, holding his hands up. “Couples, right? Loads of couples, but what’s your point?” 

Chad made some kind of sweeping arm gesture and dropped the ball, letting it spring away. “ _You_ and Gabriella,” he repeated for the third time, bringing his hands together in what was supposed to be a signal to make things more obvious, and then with reluctance he repeated, “ _Me_ and Ryan.” 

As Chad looked away once more with his hands on his hips, Troy thought he might finally understand what Chad meant. Only he didn’t quite understand it in the way he was probably meant to. At least he thought not.

“Wait, what?” He asked dumbly, thinking aloud more than anything else. “You and Ryan _what_?”

Chad was biting his lip and his stance was defensive, but he didn’t answer.

“You and _Ryan_? What, like you and Taylor were?” Troy’s voice was rising, but he really wasn’t aware of much else at this point. “Like me and Gabriella?” He took a step back in shock. “Dude, I still don’t think I understand.”

Chad seemed to take this the wrong way, and was obviously prepared for it, because he took a few steps forward and glared at Troy. “What’s so hard to understand, huh? Look, if you have such a problem with it then go right ahead and say so.” 

Troy looked away, unable to concentrate while Chad was glaring like that. Chad knew how to be threatening at the best of times, but Troy very rarely found himself on the receiving end of it.

Troy felt like his brain was functioning at half speed. He knew what Chad had said and what it meant, and yet somehow he still wasn’t able to fully comprehend it. Despite the fact that it looked as though Chad was ready to hit him, Troy looked back at him and tried to speak as calmly as he could.

“Ryan? _Really?_ Really, like _that?_ ” He still needed some kind of verification. It wasn’t as though he expected Chad to suddenly say it was all an outrageous joke that he had fallen for, but he was having serious issues wrapping his head around the whole thing. 

“Yeah,” Chad confirmed with a small nod. He tilted his chin up defensively when he said it, but he still couldn’t seem to look Troy in the eye for long. “Me and Ryan.”

It was almost painful for Troy to be thinking this hard. “When did-” he began, “I didn’t think you-” he interrupted himself, “how did?” Twenty-thousand questions were whirling around his head, most of which he wanted answers for right away and he couldn’t decide which was more important.

Chad became uneasy again, watching the ground and shuffling his feet. “I dunno, it just… _happened_. I didn’t plan it or anything. It’s not like I’m-” he stopped abruptly, looking up at Troy for a fraction of a second. “I didn’t plan it, okay?” His tone was quiet and dismissive once more.

Troy blinked a few times, feeling rather stupid. He put his hands on his hips, then crossed them, then fiddled with his hair, because all of a sudden he was feeling exceedingly uncomfortable, but he was unsure whether it was because of himself or Chad “I didn’t think you- …you know, I thought that you… I thought, I thought… _girls_ … I thought you-“ he cut himself off because it was beginning to sound absurd.

“I do!” Chad retorted without a second’s pause, looking back at Troy with his eyes wide. “I mean, I did. I _still_ do!” He was obviously having trouble figuring it out himself, and Troy pitied his friend somewhat. “And hey, man, I _never_ … with you, I was never, you know… for _you_. Or anyone else, actually, I would never-” Chad spluttered, panic now evident in his eyes. 

“No, no, I didn’t think… It’s totally cool. I didn’t-“ Troy quickly spluttered too, holding his hands out and shaking his head reassuringly, but somehow feeling anything but sure of the situation. 

The weight of it all began to press upon him, and Troy realised Chad was probably scared out of his mind of what he would think, and everyone else for that matter. It would explain the defensiveness, at least. So making an effort not to sound too disbelieving, despite how strange this all felt, Troy cleared his throat awkwardly and fished around in the sea of questions in his mind for the most important one. 

“When did this happen?” He wished he could have made it sound a bit more cheerful.

Chad shrugged carelessly, making it seem like he didn’t know. “I dunno. A while ago,” he admitted, looking up at Troy for a fleeting second, and he had the distinct feeling Chad remembered exactly when it had happened but was playing it off as casual. “Sometime after the first baseball game, I think.”

Troy nodded. “Really, that long ago?” he asked, not for clarification, but merely to reinforce the information. It seemed he had missed more than he first thought. “It’s cool, man,” he added swiftly, sensing Chad’s agitation and wanting to make him feel a little less anxious. He wasn’t the kind of person to enjoy seeing people squirm, especially not his best friend.

Chad seemed at a loss for what to do with his hands. “I didn’t tell you ‘cause, you know…” he tried to explain, pulling back his hair and then letting it bounce back into place, “I’m still new to it all.”

They both slid into an awkward silence, and Troy wished he at least had a basketball to occupy his hands. This was officially the most absurd situation he had found himself in to date, and it was most definitely not something he thought he would ever have to deal with. He wished he had been better equipped to handle it.

“I didn’t mean to keep blowing you off,” Chad admitted quietly. “I just,” he began, looking at Troy almost pleadingly. “Remember what you were like in the beginning with Gabriella? I barely saw you for a whole month, man.”

Troy laughed a little, “Yeah,” he said for lack of anything better to say. “Yeah, I get it. I know, dude.“ 

Chad let out an awkward cough-type thing that could have just been him clearing his throat, and his eyes were very clearly averted. “I really like him,” he mumbled. “And it’s, like, new and weird and really sudden, and honestly I don’t know what I’m doing half the time. But…” he looked up at Troy and shrugged. “I just like him a lot, so…”

Troy nodded. He didn’t want Chad to feel embarrassed, and as curious as he was, he didn’t want Chad to feel obliged to explain himself either. So he picked up the basketball Chad had discarded previously, desperate to have something to distract himself with, and desperate to let Chad off the hook. 

“So I guess I don’t have to worry about the new best friend thing anymore,” he joked, trying to bring the mood of the conversation up again. He wasn’t used to having such weighty conversations with Chad, as they generally couldn’t make it through two sentences without someone making a joke. 

Chad laughed, and Troy hadn’t felt that relieved to hear a laugh in a long time. “Yeah, there’s nothing to worry about there, man. You’re still my best…” he trailed off as he caught the ball Troy had thrown towards him. “That is if you still, if you want to- If you’re not, like-”

Troy gaped. “Of course! I wouldn’t- yeah. Of course.” He shook his head, shocked that Chad had even considered for a second that he wouldn’t want to be his friend because of this.

“Not that I, not that _you_ , I mean. Just since-”

“No, dude, don’t even. It’s cool,” Troy scrambled to get the words out fast enough. “That’s not even a thing, man. We’re cool. I mean, I’m gonna take a few moments to, like, to get it, really _get_ it, but yeah. We’re cool.”

Chad smiled, the first genuine smile Troy had seen in a while. “Okay, yeah. That’s good,” he added as he sent the ball back to Troy, “because I can’t really do this kind of thing with him.” 

“What, toss a ball? I thought you two were baseball buddies,” Troy grinned. “I’ve seen him play, he’s basically a pro.”

“Oh, he can catch a baseball with his eyes shut,” Chad smiled back, and Troy noted that the same animated look Chad always wore when he talked about Ryan had returned to his face. Troy wondered why he hadn’t figured at least some of it out sooner. “But for some reason he can’t handle a basketball at all. It’s like he has an allergy to them.”

“Well, I’m always here for any of your basketball-related needs, buddy,” Troy joked, glad that they couldn’t finally laugh about something.

Chad smirked, but was soon shuffling his feet and averting his gaze again. His discomfort seemed to rub off on Troy, because he felt suddenly awkward again. He understood that this scenario between two friends was almost always going to be bizarre, but he wished it didn’t have to be. He scrambled to find something to say, just to make Chad know he was okay with everything.

“So, you know,” he began with a few bounces of the ball, wishing he could make the conversation move as easily as he could a basketball. “Are you guys, like… what do you do togeth-“ Troy stopped himself right there, knowing what he was about to say but realising how it would be interpreted. Perhaps he needed to take baby steps.

Chad was staring back at him with wide eyes. He stuttered a bit and gulped nervously. “Uh… you know. Stuff. I guess,” he slowly stated, looking around as though desperate for a distraction from the conversation. 

“I actually didn’t mean… Wait, what’s _stuff?_ ” Troy was quite horrified with himself, as the question had popped out before he had even had time to think. Even though things were clearly different this time, part of his mind figured that they were still two teenage boys, so the topic wasn’t exactly unfamiliar territory. 

Biting his lip nervously, Chad shrugged in a non-committal way. “Just, _stuff_ , you know,” he answered, but there was a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

Troy was stunned, all awkwardness aside. “What, really? _Already?_ ” He was almost in awe. “Gabriella and I haven’t even… dude, we’ve been together for ages. How did you-”

Chad laughed; he actually threw his head back and let out a deafening laugh. Troy was appalled. “Dude, that’s because you’re dating a girl who didn’t even know what guys were until you came along and enlightened her.” He was grinning widely at Troy, who launched the ball at him swiftly because he wasn’t close enough to give him the standard manly punch in the arm. “You may as well keep taking matters into your own hands, bro, ‘cause you’ll be waiting a while for her.”

As Troy took a moment to get the joke, Chad dribbled the ball around him and shot it through the hoop before Troy could even grasp what was happening.

“That was low, Danforth,” he warned teasingly, pointing an accusing finger at Chad as he approached him. 

“What’re you gonna do ‘bout it, huh?” Chad challenged, tossing the ball back and forth between his hands. 

Troy stole the ball from Chad and sent it soaring through the hoop behind him.

Chad let out a bark of laughter, “Oh, playmaker’s back! If that’s your answer to everything, then LeBron better watch his back.” He raced to grab the ball and sent it straight back through the hoop.

Troy snorted a laugh as Chad swung from the hoop in true Michael Jordan style – or was it George of the Jungle style? He felt the unwelcome concern that had been tapping away in the back of his head for weeks now slowly fade to nothing, and as he watched Chad commentate his own manoeuvres and imitate the roar of the crowd, he wondered how long it would take for him to get used to the new situation. He felt like he finally had his friend back, though, and he hoped it was for good. He also hoped that this was the last plateful of upheaval that he would have to swallow down, because for the first time this summer, since everything had succumbed to chaos, Troy felt that things were finally back to normal. Or, at least, as normal as things were likely to get.


End file.
